OffGun Does Cute Well ... Obviously

There was no doubt in my mind when starting the first episode that Off and Gun were going to give exactly what I wanted: sweet, sexy, and silly -- all of the Ss! What a cute little series, packed with some great comedy and some lovely characters. However, for me, something doesn't entirely click.

Let's Dive In.

For starters, this series felt entirely like Off and Gun instead of their characters. So much to the point where I don't even remember their characters' names outside of their nicknames. If I'm not mistaken, I read somewhere how this was a series Off and Gun created themselves, which is maybe why it feel so offputting. The acting isn't bad per say -- because they can act, obviously, and there are scenes that they do great emotionally in, but something in their acting didn't reach for me. It might be because they're so comfortable with one another that they start acting like themselves instead of how their characters would act. Either way, this is kind of my only argument, that it feels disingenious somewhere in the middle. However, that doesn't mean I don't love seeing these vets do their thing on screen, and of course, I was still smiling all big and happy.

So going frrm there, I'll try leaning into the relationship of Doc and Chef outside of the actors. The first few episodes sold me. I was absolutely in love with the concept of this, something not original, but such a spin with having a culinary student and another working on becoming a doctor instead of the typical majors BL supplies us with. Chef is very endearing, going for a goal that isn't all that easy to reach while still providing for his family. This is how he gets into this situation in the first place, with needing Doc's money to help his sister out. Doc is silly, he has an edge to him when it comes to his father and stepmother, but yet we see such a precious side around his friends and Chef. Their build-up is great, and their executions in other scenes set their tone perfectly, except, I was bewildered by some of the bad kissing. I'm going to assume this is more of a director's choice, but their first kiss and a few more throughout the series were just -- really bad. Others were great, just like how you'd imagine OffGun to kiss. Closer to the end, their relationship kind of plateaus for me. it's no longer exciting in the sense of Chef and Doc, and more so, again, just Off and Gun. Their individual stories capture how they come about now as adults, but there are some scenes that seem nonsensical, like Doc's dad having a nurse that was identical to his mom, which they could've played more on like being his mom's twin sister, or maybe his dad is crazy and cloned her or something. That just felt very too circumstantial. Another was Doc punching the celebrity chef guy, which yes, he deserved, but in such an environment like that one, pulling Chef away and giving a stern talking to would've been enough too. There are some others, but overall, they are good stories.

Moving onto the secondary couple, Firefly and Dynamite. So in love with their dynamic. Dynamite has this major crush on Firefly who saved him in a bullying accident, doing whatever he can to get this cute guy to notice him. In the beginning, it's a little zany how much Dynamite goes after him, especially without a backstory, which I think they should've shown earlier in the series so I didn't just think Dynamite was kooky for thinking someone is so handsome to the point where he liked them so much. Near the middle, it's when they get a lot closer, and a lot cuter. I like this aspect of their characters that pick and tease at one another and then can become so cheesy and in love the next. Their chemistry and build-up take a little bit to get there, but when it does, it's strong and very tensional. Firefly's whole problem is that he's too loyal to his strict mom, doing everything he can to please her even if it means he ignores his own feelings. This is given a resolution by the end, with Firefly's mom walking away, but then they give her a terrible redemption arc in the last episode, and it's like, okay whatever. Overall, I liked them in the beginning more than I did in the end, only because they didn't do physical very well, even with the couple of hugs and cheek kisses they gave one another. It threw off their connection to me when they did, and them not getting an actual kiss felt weird, but whatever. Aungpao did great for his very first GMMTV series. I liked his dynamic more with the trio, which is where part of this series does it for me.

Talking about the trio, they were golden. I loved when friend groups feel genuine, and you can see the different personality each of them bring to carry this heartful friendship. I loved Samsi, quite literally my favorite character to see. Such a loving guy, who just loved being around his friends, that felt heartbroken with their secrets, but in the end, knowing that they were always going to be there for him no matter what. He does comedy better than any of the other's did, except, there were some weight jokes thrown in there, which is normal for Thai BLs to do with bigger characters, but nonetheless, still pinching a nerve somewhere inside of me. I'm glad he gets his own partner, but my only argument with that is that he and Metha had built such a great enemies-to-lovers trope, so why not just have them get together?

The production value was great, with a bit too many production placements, but I'll digress. The food looked amazing, I liked that each episode starts off with showing a menu item.

Rating:

Story: 7.5/10 - Great! it flowed rather nicely, with a few hiccups, but nothing not watch-worthy.

Acting: 8.5/10 - Everyone did good, with Dome (Samsi) playing his character the best IMO. OffGun felt too much like OffGun, but they can still act. Neo did a great job, but he always does well with comedic roles. Aungpao did amazing for his first time, especially with such an already-established cast.

Music: 6/10 - I didn't pay attention to it.

Recommendation Value: 7/10 - this is cute in lots of aspects. Even with my little critics of this series, I still recommend it. it's lighthearted (for the most part), pretty funny, and an easy watch.

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Pavel Was in This, So I was Seated

Boy-oh-boy, what a series. There's so much to unpack that a lot of people have kind of already done, but I'm here to throw in my 2 cents like always. Pit Babe was wild, in so many aspects, but particularly this new subject that's being bought up, and that's omegaverse. While this is a slippery slope for a lot of people, specifically for me, I think this series handled it perfectly without making it too cringe (sort of) or too wolf-ish. Pit Babe had Pavel in it, nonetheless, so of course I was seated.

Let's Dive In.

This was such a huge project that I was so excited for Pavel to be the lead in. I wasn't fond of his Coffee Melody series, so I'm just so glad he was put into something with a beautiful production value, great actors, and a complex story. This series has become huge globally, and I'm so happy he's getting his recognition since the 2 moons disaster.

Okay, so getting away from my pleasantries of Pavel, let's talk more about the series. Starting off, The production value is high. The sets were so perfect, so many different locations, so many different mansions and cars and motorcycles and the whole nine yards. The story is so compacted and flows perfectly, like it's scary how perfect it kind of was. We go from point A to point B with detail and understanding and I know the character's names. I loved it. There were so many astounding plot twists in this that I never knew what was coming next, seriously. The writers did a fantastic job producing this series. They were able to make it story-heavy and BL-heavy without too much or too little of either.

Moving onto the couples, of course, to no one's surprise. Jeff and Alan stole the show. Their build-up, their chemistry, their dynamic, it was like a present being left at my doorstep. Their kind of trope is my favorite; the uke whose stoic and quiet, and the seme whose outgoing and bubbly and kind. They were what kept me watching when Charlie and Babe's relationship got a little complicated, so I appreciated seeing them on my screen. Their NC Scenes were so good, so perfectly sculpted to be individually theirs and so precious how it was handled. Both actors did an amazing job. Moving onto Charlie and Babe, I think it went a little fast for my taste. I'm a slow-burn lover till the day I die, and obviously, this couple is the complete opposite of that. Their dynamic could be fun, until it just wasn't, until it got complex and all over the place. Do I think Charlie and Babe stay together forever? Maybe, but probably not. Their dynamics were a lot for one another, with Charlie being so quick to try and make Babe feel better without thinking of his own feelings, and Babe being needy for something that he can't quite find in Charlie unless he's in his pants. Either way, I liked them in the beginning, I think their story made it hard for me to see them together with all the secrets and lies and such, but it is what it is. Also, their NC scenes were heated for sure, I'm glad they know how to do physical well.

The omega verse shenanigans was kept pretty down-low and wasn't overly thrown into your face (other than a couple of times). I think the mention of male pregnancy was a bit of a nuance if it's not something they were going to parallel in the future. It confuses the watcher (me) and makes them go on a 2-hour spiral on what the hell that even is. But I think everything else was pretty watered down and could be a normal conversation between mlm relationships (yes, even the mama and papa, I've seen it before).

The side characters did really well. I wish North and Sonic's relationship would've been explored further, seeing as they would flirt and mention their overly friendly relationship, but whatever. I think Way and Pete would've been really cute too, and I just really wanted Kenta to end up with someone but oh well.

My real only problem: This series kind of feels a little draggy. There are a few episodes I sped through or kind of skimmed and still got the point of what was going on. I think this could've been 10 episodes max if they took out some unnecessary NC and commentary scenes.

Ratings:

Story: 8.5/10 - Well done! Flowed at a perfect level, had so many different aspects to be excited about, including the relationships.

Acting: 9/10 - Oh Pavel, the man you are. He did an excellent job as Pit, he cried so many times, I know he was exhausted. I think Pooh's acting still has loads of work to go through, but I think he did decent nonetheless. Nut did really well too, and everyone else played a great role.

Music: 6.5/10 - I remember the theme song being kind of annoying. It felt like I was watching the intro to a Power Rangers series.

Recommendation Value: 8/10 - It's a well-put-together series, so I highly recommend watching it. The men in this are insanely hot if that helps too. You'll be a bit spooked by the mention of Alpha and all that, but after the second episode, you get over it.

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Wowza

Wowza. This series had me feeling things that I haven't felt in a long time from a J-BL or just a BL in general. Were there plenty of plot holes, some rough character development, and some editing errors? Of course. But my love for everything, especially the story, makes those little problems seem frivolous. Tokyo in April is ... the best-told story of friends to lovers that I've seen J-BL come out with.

Let's Dive In.

This might look like a simplistic friends-to-lovers story from the gist of the synopsis, but when watching -- wow, it truly was so complex in details and factors. One of my favorite things about this series was the delicate touch to specificities and the complexity of the flow of the story and the way it's told. Through each episode, something new is brought to light about Ren or Kazuma, or their coworkers. It was planned so accordingly and just led to bigger and better reactions from me.

Now, my all-time favorite trope is friends to lovers, so it was no surprise that I wouldn't have liked this to some certain extent, but like omg, when they dive into Kazuma and Ren's backstory, I might've gotten teary-eyed more than a few times. The revelation of the intimacy that they went through at their age was not something I saw coming at all. But the intensity of it all was almost too much for me to bear, so I know two young and curious boys going through something as serious as sex can't be an easy pill to swallow. Especially the aftermath of it all -- Kazuma getting sick, Ren faulting himself for what they did, him being sent off to France, Kazuma to America. Urgh, just the pure intensity of it all was enough for me to love it. Even outside of their adult relationship, I could feel the genuine love they had for one another as kids. Now, as adults, their romance is a lot more obvious to see and interpret. And did I mention that these actors did a phenomenal job? I felt the chemistry very head-on and it was a mixture of awkwardness, a large tinge of something sexual, and just a great connection.

The only problem I really had trouble with was Kazuma's mom. Her reaction to them doing something so serious as children is understandable, but to continue your hatred of a grown adult that you know your son loves is idiotic. Then turning around and being like "No it's fine ya'll can love each other" is crazy. You're the reason Ren ran away the second time and caused your son more hurt, so it's just absolutely crazy.

I wanted more of a backstory from Hide and Ryunosuke. Hide seemed so full of dread when seeing Kazuma again, and it's never really revealed why. Is it because he was the one who told Ren that Katzuma was back in America and alive? If that's it, then it doesn't feel like that big of a deal. Also, why would Ren prescribe to Kazuma to never talk to him for that very minor reason? It's not the exact same for Ryunosuke, cause it's obvious he has feelings for Ren when he explains that they've tried having sex before, but maybe just something more in-depth as to what he does outside of being Ren's wingman.

The editing was kind of funky. Not terrible, but sometimes they lingered too long on certain scenes when you could tell the momentum from it was over. Along with that, I hate when at the beginning of each episode, they give us a recap of what happened last episode, just very irrelevant. But that also could be because I binge-watched this (also finished it all in like the spam of a few hours lol).

Overall, I really really liked this. I know that it was adapted from a manga and a lot of people had complaints about what they did differently from the manga and the live-adaption. However, I never read the manga, so this review is purely based on my satisfaction with the live-action.

Ratings;

Story: 8/10 - So good. Even the office jargon was important to the plot. Everything flowed well and had me seated and ready to hear all of it. The best part was the flashbacks to their complicated childhood friendship. Some work could've been done to improve the overall behavior of some of the choices they chose to make.

Acting: 9.5/10 - So so so so so so so good. The best is probably coming from the actors playing the lead's younger selves. Omg, they did so well, to tell a story as intense as theirs was and do it was so much poignancy. Chef's kiss. Along with that, the actual leads did really well too. The side characters told the stories they needed to tell and drove the plot to where it needed to be.

Music 6/10: I didn't pay much attention to it.

Recommendation Value: 8/10 - This is very deep, so I wouldn't recommend it to just anyone. Definitely someone ready to hear something as deep as this story was. But other than that, I highly recommend, so nicely told, has such a wonderful story, and is super entertaining.

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Great Until it Wasn't

Only Friends has a great beginning, but I can't lie that the incline to it being great crashed somewhere and just started getting rather tedious to watch. And don't get me wrong -- the plot, the acting, the romances -- everything worked like it was supposed to, except, still something just didn't work towards the end of this for me.

Let's Dive In.

Jojo knew what he was doing with this series, specifically with these pairings too. Putting a bunch of hot people in one frame and having them get into some heated mess -- okay yes, of course, I'm seated. I absolutely adore the concept of this BL, which I don't even know if I would label it a BL. This felt more like a genuine queer messy-gay series with no specific yes on a pairing and everybody was just kissing and sucking and fucking one another. It was about friendship and love and betrayal and hatred and loss and it worked perfectly with these actors. They put on a brilliant performance, and I can't wait to see what's lined up for them in the future from here on out.

Now, onto specific characters/pairings: I'll be honest, I would've loved a RayMew endgame. Of course, Ray and Sand worked well together too, but I'm a sucker for friends to lovers and we can't pretend like the moments that we did get between them weren't so fucking cute. Anyways, passed my wrecked ship, I'll start with Top and Mew. I absolutely hate that they ended up together. I really wish that Mew would've moved on, which might be my own bias because I can't imagine staying with someone that cheated on me, and even worse, cheated on me with my best friend. Also, yes, Boston is like a terrible human being, but if Mew can't find it in himself to forgive his friend but forgive his partner when they were both in the wrong, then Mew is being a bit of a hypocrite -- is he not? But skipping past before Top cheated with Boston, I was all aboard the Top Mew train. But initially Top only got with Mew to fill Boston's bet that he couldn't be the person Mew loses his virginity to, so now that I'm remembering that, I actually still didn't really like this pairing much. And I get it, he realized he actually did have feelings for Mew, but the intentions were still there. In reality, I give their relationship 5 months until they end for good.

Onto Sand and Ray, the only couple that I'm okay with. I liked Ray's character development a lot, which is why I can actually see this relationship lasting. They had a lot of ups and downs and honestly, the only real one I can recall is Ray still having feelings for Mew. I think they also complement each other so well that it just works. The rich with the poor, the spontaneous with the calculated, the party animal with the quiet musician, the boy who yearns for someone to love them with the boy who yearns to be loved. It was all so good. Again, I think Ray and Mew would've worked better for me, but I can see why this pairing does too, so I'm not mad about it at all.

Moving onto Nick and Boston -- thank god they didn't end up together. I hated seeing Nick just up and give Boston chance after chance, especially after they actually get together and Boston screws up again. He's just an all-around terrible person, who needed no redemption arc but was still given one (slightly). But again, Neo is so charming, so handsome, so perfect, so I can see why Nick would *shrugs in understanding*. But Nick deciding to work on himself to find the key to loving himself was a perfect ending for his character. Poor dude passed up Gumpa, so he really must've been hurting.

Mond being in this was so random and yet everything I needed and more. Dude is so pretty, so perfect, so everything. I couldn't even be mad that he was put in to add conflict at the last minute, because gosh, I mean just look at him. And the glasses too?? I'm no better than any of these characters tbh.

So what I think went wrong with this series: For me, there were a few times in which this just dragged on. Seeing Mark be hurt over and over again, Ray and Sand going back and forth, Top and Mew playing a game of cat and mouse -- and then it goes on for episodes and episodes. By the end, I was watching this at 2 times the speed. This is me being completely nit-picky and everyone else can disagree with me and that's fine, but how come we never see Ray/Sand and Top/Mew NC scenes as intensely as we saw Boston/any-boy-within-a-two-feet-radius-and-Mark? Maybe because they wanted to put an emphasis on Boston being sex crazy, but it felt weird to incorporate something for one character but not the others.

Ratings:

Story: 8/10 - Overall, it was good. Kind of repetitive and a little bit draggy, but it still worked well and was on theme throughout.

Acting: 9/10 - I got to see Mond and Force shirtless (which has nothing to do with their acting, but they sure did show me a good performance so..). Anyways though, and for real, everyone did a phenomenal job. Again, I'll have to give most of the kudos to Khaotung who just hits it out of the park each and every time. But Mark also stood out and so did Neo too.

Music: 8.5/10: Like usual, I didn't pay much attention, but I would like the sudden shock on my face when I heard an English song playing. I don't know, it just shocks me sometimes. Also, the theme song is so very good.

Recommendation Value: 7.5/10: Watch this because the actors are gorgeous and they are kissing at least 1/2 of each episode -- and the plot is wonderful. I give it a low score because I think this would've actually worked out better had I binge-watched it. I just saw all the hype and had to watch, but having seen what I've seen, I could've definitely waited to binge-watch it.

Also, Mix coming in at the end almost felt like they were building up to a potential 2nd season?? I mean, just imagine it. And you know if Mix is there I'm also there. We shall see once the final GMMTV 2024 line-up comes out!

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Ehh

So, this was on my plan-to-watch list for some time now, and seeing as I have plenty of that, I decided to finally give it a watch. Final conclusion: ehh. The plot involving Yuma was more fun than the actual leads of the show, but Ritsu is very beautiful, so I'll forgive it. The end of The World With You that SPOILER!! doesn't actually end. And I think the part that I'm most upset about is that it doesn't end and we're given a happily ever-after ending when I honestly wish it could been the opposite.

Let's Dive In.

So Yuma's plot was fun, the leads weren't bad, it's just their relationship was very toxic, so for me, not so fun to watch. Of course, people can change in a decade, so maybe Ritsu will turn out to be a better person, and I can kind of see the growth at the end, but still, dealing with that type of trauma in Matsumi's perspective must've been hard. Good thing he's not stubborn like I am.

Hmm, no wonder this show got good hype, didn't realize I was going to be watching PORN. But on a more serious note, the NC scenes were good, albeit maybe a little much for this series in particular. I also liked that they didn't play music in the background during their intimate moments, and we actually got to hear the ecstasy and all that jazz.

Ratings:

Story: 7.5/10 - Like I said, would've liked for the world to actually end, but that's a personal preference. I loved Yuma and I loved his story. I've read most of the theories on his character, and I believe all of them. Semi-god coming down to protect the earth, supernatural miracle boy -- all of it. And obviously, the NC scenes were good, again a little much, but good.

Acting: 9/10 - Great acting, especially from Toshiki (Matsumi) who did a fabulous job. Great growth between both leads and Sousyo (Yuma) was a freaking cutie.

Music: 7.5/10 - I liked the music that played at the end of each episode.

Recommendation Value: 5/10 - Didn't play out how I would've liked it to, so maybe not the first thing I'd recommend. Does have some pretty good NC scenes, so for someone looking to be horny, I'll recommend them this one.

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Surprise Little Gem in the K-BL Sea

Immediately, I thought that I wasn't going to like this. Looking at the MDL overall rating (which I don't pay much attention to, but still, it was pretty low), browsing through the comments briefly, and seeing some of my fave MDL accounts rating it pretty low -- like, I knew what was coming. But out of the blue, I find myself enjoying every little bit of this short series, beginning to end, which is definitely not like me.

Let's Dive In.

For a fat minute, I thought this was some kind of sequel to "Happy Ending Romance" but it's not, just coincidentally they have very similar title names. but anyways, the first episode swept me off my feet, and it's very rare that a series does that for me. It's alike many series I've seen before, but at the same time is something different entirely. I love that they first met and fell in love at a wedding venue, I love that this series dips into mental health struggles, I loved a lot of things about this series.

I think I can make the same argument that I always do with K-BLs which is that this series is severely too short to have played everything out perfectly. We still have a lot of things unanswered, and the romance is slightly abrupt, but I don't mind only because I loved these two. Their chemistry was off the charts. And the kissing?! Being more than decent?! Them kissing each other back?! I nearly fell out of my chair.

Again, I wanted more on Seungjun's mental health and how he's working towards helping himself. We obviously know that his best friend ended up having some sort of feelings for him, so I would've loved to see more of that too. If this series was longer and added maybe 4-5 more episodes, it would've been perfect.

Rating:

Story; 8/10 - Fun! Well, not all parts, but everything was good! It kept my interest and I'm happy with how everything turned out. Again, things are just rushed due to timing.

Acting: 9/10 - Amazing! Especially our main character who plays a very bottled-up person who has so much to deal with from his past. Sungtae (Jaehyun) is such a cutie and plays a perfect boyfriend.

Music - 8.5/10 - Good! Surprisingly I loved it!

Recommendation Value: 9/10 - It's short and an easy watch, along with being pretty good with the allotted time they had. Chemistry is great, skinship is even better. Give this one a watch for sure!

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KBL Ruined by Lazy Writing

Oh! My Assistant has one of the strongest starts to a K-BL that I've ever seen. Budget-wise, story-wise, production-wise. Everything was great. Finally, a K-BL that's labeled rom-com and I'm actually laughing. The first two episodes had me on my ass laughing, having to pause and replay just so I could laugh again. And I wasn't laughing because it's cringey, I mean I was genuinely laughing because the scenes were set up so perfectly for a comedic moment. And then suddenly, out of nowhere, a buzzkill tsunami hits, and everything is flooding in forced lack of communication and pitiful conflict.

Let's Dive In.

Like usual, I judged a book by its cover, its terribly edited, cheap-looking cover. If someone gave me 30 minutes and two shots of tequila, I could've come up with something 10 times better, I'm sure. So I went in thinking the budget was going to be lower than I'm used to, but to my surprise, and in less than 10 seconds into the series, the settings and the shots we're seeing are gorgeous. And I understand where they were trying to get at, with the series mimicking the setup of a manwha, but it just doesn't work for me. Anyways, I went in thinking this wasn't going to be very good, but then I turned out to be pleasantly surprised and fell in love with the first two episodes. The perfect balance of plot setup and comedy, the sorting of feelings and character structure on point. And then it's completely ruined when the writers run out of creativity and decide they will do the laziest writing ever and just have Muyeong and Seonho have terrible communication skills and numerous misunderstandings.

Tell me Muyeong, why would Seonho confess to liking you if he were in a relationship with Minyeong? And if that was your consensus, why not -- I don't know -- ask? It was incredibly infuriating, along with the pretend boyfriend, and the half confessions before the actual confession -- urgh.

I believed Muyeong and Seonho's chemistry in the beginning, but like most K-BL, they show a teensy amount of physicalness, and it's ruined. Their kissing, their hugs, all of it, negative ten out of ten. Then after that, it's just completely unbelievable that these two humans like each other. But also, Chanbin's (Muyeong) acting seems to get worse episode by episode. He's a beautiful human, amazing lips, gorgeous eyes, his height's everything -- but that's about all he has.

But besides the bad, like I said the comedy in this is handled perfectly. the settings are gorgeous, and so is the color palette they use and even the music, which I rarely pay attention to, but was pleasantly surprised by it.

Ratings:

Story: 6/10 - It's so good at the beginning, but it collapses into itself and the lazy writing ruins the series. I sped through the last three episodes full of incredibly agonizing conflict that isn't real, genuine conflict. But besides that, and the comedy, I actually liked the side story that was going on with Muyeong's friend. Part of me wanted them to get together, just because they've been through so much life together, and I'm a sucker for friends to lovers.

Acting - 8/10: I think everybody's acting was great, the only person's acting that struggled was Chanbin's. It might've been the writing, but he had one emotion and an impeccable smile every now and then and that's it.

Music - 8/10: I liked it! for once I made sure to pay attention not it.

Recommendation value: 5.5/10 - I'm sad I'm giving this such a low score, cause I really did like this in the beginning, and the rest of the series wasn't so bad to the point that I didn't at least enjoy it a little bit, but if you're asking for my recommendation, there are just so many other K-BLs out there that do it better. But if you want something short, cute, and funny, I might recommend this one.

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Good, But Too Long to Binge

This was a really good series with some really good (and pretty) actors with some good story (aside from the talking furniture..). This is one of those series that you have to watch while it's airing because it's incredibly too long to binge. Had I watched this during its airing, then I think I would've appreciated this series more, but most of the time, I was ready for it to be over.

Let's Dive In.

TMOTB is another wacky plot about a human falling in love with -- a tangible object -- a teddy bear-turn-human. This concept was way beyond me, I was sure it wasn't going to be good, but -- in reality, it's actually really well thought out, and with In's (Tofu's) acting, it's believable that he's a human who knows nothing about basic human things (until later in the series). It also worked out for them because they didn't just have him be some teddy bear, he was a bear in a human's body who had bad implications for Nut and an even sadder tale for Song and his father. Like it's really good.

I shipped Tathan and Nut as soon as we get a glimpse into Nut's backstory. I love first-love stories. And Tathan was such a genuine person, with even more genuine intentions. Their kiss was -- incredible. I'm glad they're end game, which is why my score for this series is a bit higher because I would've been upset had Nut and Tofu stayed together. He's a teddy bear, it just wasn't going to work (for obvious reasons)

I think Tofu and Nut were cute, but something in me didn't care much for them. His death was sad, just because seeing Nut so distraught was hard (Job's acting is superb). But in the end, I couldn't be happier about the ending. he's still there (just in tangible object mode) and Nut still gets to be happy with his first love (who is played by Judo who's the prettiest man I've ever seen and I can't wait for his series with Fluke from UWMA).

I also mostly watched because the guy with the glasses was so freaking cute, playing alongside Tee (Song). They were a good addition to the show, and I liked how their plot played along.

I won't lie though, I skipped through a lot of TMOTB, like a lot. So the mother's plot is a little wonky for me, along with the girl with the curly hair (who seems to have a crush on a woman by the end). But I get the gist of most of the other plots, so it's fine. But this was just really really long. They could've cut out a lot to keep it mid-length (and given the rest of the time to Korea/Japan). So most of the episodes past episode 8 were lightly skimmed through.

Ratings:

Story: 8/10 - It's complex, it's deep, it has a nice flow, and all conflicts are resolved. It's good, but it's just too much and too long.

Acting: 9/10 - Job can ACT for real. In was good too, but I think Job just surpasses what he has. The others do an excellent job too.

Music: 6/10 - I didn't pay attention to it, but it wasn't distracting so good!

Recommendation Value: 5.5/10 - I would've recommended this higher had it been airing, but I can only slightly recommend this while it's over because it's a lot to sit through. Unless you're patient and can watch an episode per day, then go for it, but I like to finish a series (when I'm binging) in at least less than a week. But the story is good, it's compelling and it was an okay watch (only okay because, again, it's too long).

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Color RUSHED...

There was no point in this series. Like none. It resolved one singular conflict that was unresolved in the first season and decided that nothing else was important.

Let's Dive In.

I liked the introduction to Hyuk's character (Sehyun). He didn't feel like a one-dimensional character coming into this story to do presumably nothing, but he had a motive and fell in well with the crowd. I was surprised to see that they were going to give Yeonwoo a new love interest, but (technically) he's not, more so a guy Yeonwoo might have feelings for, but it's not explored with at all (instead, we're given what looks like the real thing, but it was just a daydream).

The mother conflict was resolved from the previous season (whoot, whoot), which was my problem with it in the first place. But the resolution is so anticlimax and -- rushed. Same with how they find out about Sehyun's sister and who "killed" her. I'm still trying to figure out how they both were sitting in the facility bloody and hurt and then all of a sudden they wake up in the hospital with Yeonwoo's aunt and she's explaining everything was handled. ...huh? Okay then.

The punching and fight scenes were so bad I had to pause and just compose myself.

The editing wasn't all that good either, as it seemed their budget has lower than last season.

Ratings:

Story: 5/10 - was too rushed and all the conflicts were resolved in anticlimax ways.

Acting: 8.5/10 - It was good. Just like last season's was.

Music: 6/10 - I didn't pay attention to it, so at least it wasn't distracting.

Recommendation Value: 4/10 - Season 1 was enough, There was really no point to this other than resolving the conflict with the mother missing. If you just have to know what happens, then do watch. Otherwise, don't bother.

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Appealing

I had high hopes for these two since watching Kissable Lips -- an endearing tale of a vampire and is bait -- onto this series about office workers, tenants, and the whole shebang. I can say, they really did their thing here, and I really enjoyed watching.

Let's Dive in.

I have nothing new to say from the other reviews. This was a very nice change from university or high school settings. Although, the office jargon could get to be a bit boring, but besides that, I was continuously intrigued.

Both actors have grown since KL. It's very visible in the way they performed here. Who I'm surprised by the most is Jiwoong who played an incredible snobby-turned-sweet dude. I wasn't prepared to see him in such a comedic-like role, but he did very well. The same goes for Seobin. The chemistry was great. I think it felt a bit rushed just due to its being a bit of a short series, but they found times to really played into the relationship of one another.

Ratings:

Story: 7.5/10 - Good! The office talk could be a bit of a drag, and outside of the problems that Hojoon had with his dad and Jaeyoon with his toxic friend, it was just okay.

Acting: 8.5/10 - Excellent! The two old-timers did way better here than in KL. I can't wait to continue seeing more from them. The people in the office also did a good job, and everyone else was decent.

Music: 6/10 - Wasn't distracting.

rewatch Value: 7/10 - Again, I rarely rewatch anything, but if I were to recommend this, I'd say I do.

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Was Not Expecting to Enjoy This so Much

My love for this series comes as a very pleasant surprise. I was not excepting myself to like this at all, and was fully prepared to watch the first episode, and then shelf it until infinity. After coming from Senpai, Danjite Koidewa, which I dropped mid-first episode, I was a little worried about where my head would be at with this one, but I decided to trust my gut anyways, and good thing I did. Minato Shouji Coin Laundry is a surreal feeling of a forbidden love that claws at your heart whilst also being hilarious in and of itself.

Let's Dive In.

My worry for this series was definitely the age difference, especially since this was one dealing with a high school (underage to of age) and a grown adult almost in his thirties. It's a very quick turn-off, it's a very quick, "no, this is not the move," but I gave it a shot anyways. The only reason this age gap didn't throw me off was because Shin (the high schooler) was the one initiating the relationship. The one wanting to hold Akira's hand, kiss him, go on a date with him, be his boyfriend, etc. And Akira being the adult of the two of them was the one doing everything in his power to prevent it from happening. Telling Shin he had more going for himself than him, telling Shin his crush was only temporary, telling him to move on and start college, etc. Had this been vice-versa -- Akira initiating everything on Shin -- then this would've immediately been dropped. But it's not like that. This isn't grooming or anything of the sort. In every instance, Akira is trying to persuade Shin out of admiring him, and it's handled with such great care while also being entertaining and silly. Yes, Akira's feelings for Shin are obvious from the first episode, but he suppresses them in the most responsible way possible. This was definitely giving forbidden love, which I can somewhat like given the circumstance, and yes, this was one of those circumstances.

The writing in this is lovely. Anytime Shin was going on one of his ridiculously beautiful monologues about his feelings for Akira, I found myself getting emotional because it was so touching. Especially the one in the hotel and the note he wrote to Akira, it was all so beautifully put together. Outside of Shin, the writing and characterization for Akira were perfect. His childish demeanor, yet stern attitude. His sudden joy of the smallest things, the emotions we see play on his face during his internal monologues. Gosh, it was like a perfectly wrapped present you don't want to open because it's too perfect.

Their relationship was nice to watch, There were a lot of instances when it felt like they were running in circles, but it was nice to see Shin flirt, Akira get flustered and reprimand him, only for him to have this internal monologue about wishing he could say it back. I won't lie, I was a little shocked that they ended up getting together in the end. I was so sure this series would either take the, "we don't get together at all" route, or the, "we get together after Shin is finished with college" route. But the ending was the best part o this entire series. The way Akira pours out his heart because he believes Shin is leaving only for Shin to say he's staying, and yet still they have this incredible moment, full of silliness and perfected emotions. And these two had decent chemistry. There might've been times their physical chemistry wasn't always there, but for sure, their emotional connection was subpar, especially when I get teary-eyed just watching them stare and cry with one another. This honestly couldn't have been any better.

Akira's whole situation with his swim coach was a little frustrating. Akira being a grown adult should've been able to handle it accordingly without acting so -- well, childish. That was the only thing that I can think that really frustrated me about his character, his inability to just spit it out and continue to take us on this elongated journey through the 12 episodes of him just trying to explain his feelings to his coach. Would've rather this had been resolved immediately so that Sukama could've been a mentor for his relationship instead of the thing that's stopping it.

Moving onto the side characters, I really loved Shin's sister. I think she was adorable and liked how she was Shin's wing woman. she played a nice supporting role in the help of getting them together.

Asuka and Hiiragi's relationship was a lot more irritating because Hiiragi just never looked interested, and even if he didn't know how to show it or whatever, I don't know how Asuka didn't just run and move on. But aside from their relationship, I really liked Asuka's character. he was playful, genuine, and a lovely person. I would love to see him in a main role.

Ratings:

Story: 8.5/10 - A really strong story. There were times when something felt a bit draggy, and a lot of times it felt like nothing was going anywhere in the story. but aside from that, it was entertaining and a really fun watch, It kept me wanting to come back and finish, which is the most important part.

Acting: 9/10 - such, such a good job from the actors. Everyone did so well in their roles, Takuya definitely took the lead as the best out of all of them. Tomoya would for sure be my second favorite, with Sho following behind. Either way, they did an incredible job, all emotions were accurate and of perfect timing.

Music: 5/10 - Kind of hated the intro song, very distracting and loud and obnoxious, but everything else in the actual series was fine.

Rewatch value: 7/10 - I rarely rewatch, and this probably won't be much of a difference, but I could for sure see myself going back to watch certain parts.

I highly recommend this series. It going to be tough now because I thought that Mr. Unlucky Has No Choice But to Kiss was going to be my favorite Japanese series of 2022, but now these two have gone head to head, and I'm not positive anymore how I feel. Either way, this was a beautiful series, so well done, and now I think I want a season two even though I envy season two's. Sigh.

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Still Better Than SIMM

Won't lie, this was a bit of a letdown, and even possibly a bit of a disappointment, but still, it's better than whatever the hell SIMM was. I think this series focused too much on the wrong things, formulating a tedious and sometimes irrelevant story. We also focused in some parts on characters that were the very least of my worries instead of characters I'd like to hear more from. Everyone is comparing this to 1000 Stars (which lies untouched and is still credited as the best GMMTV BL in my book), and of course, it follows a similar format with the countryside and a rich guy navigating his way through rural Thailand, but I think this will be the new norm of BL -- countryside love stories.

Let's Dive In.

SIYH is about Fah, a busy doctor who gets himself in trouble, and to correct his mistake, he's led to the countryside of Thailand with his other two friends to take care of the village. There, he meets Prince, a secret Prince who works as the local teacher. There, they meet, they get closer with a few other complications, and the end. We also get other storylines that were so irrelevant to the plot and move nothing further along, which is why this series is kind of at a standstill for me.

For one, we're introduced to Yaya, the village chief's daughter, who grows a very quick crush on Fah and is all-around boy-crazy. We get an entire episode dedicated to her and being put in an arranged marriage. Bad? Yes. But do I care? No. And that's mostly due to the screenwriters making her so irritating and obnoxious that you can't care. Instead, they could've given us more Mesa, more JJ, or Prince and Fah. The same can be said for Toptap's character. Although I love him to death, he just wasn't needed. He was the very low-key jealousy that happened between Prince and Fah for just a little bit until one episode, it just felt like he disappeared, and considering that he didn't even show up until a few episodes after the first is a bit sad on TopTap's part. Same with Aun's character who was just vicious but with little story to back it up. These were the irrelevant parts I was talking about. Did it help to get our mains closer? Maybe, but there were other ways they could've done it that didn't make me want to ff.

Overall, the script could've been much cleaner and more precise. They choose a beautiful setting to shoot in and I feel like they didn't utilize it quite enough. They also had so much story to work with and they just chose all the wrong choices. The story grows boring somewhere in the middle, making it quite hard to want to watch. We get a lot of nonsense with Pince who falls randomly ill like 3-4 times and only because there was nothing else the writers could come up with. This is where I can draw similarities to 1000 Stars, but it's still its own series. I think we'll be seeing a lot more countryside-type BLs, but that doesn't mean we keep claiming them as rip-offs of 1000 Stars. It's like me calling every engineering BL a rip-off of SOTUS, but we don't do that simply because engineering BLs have become the norm, or in some way or another, the story switches it up to make it as unique as they can get it. That's what I get from SIYH, switching up a story that's probably going to continue to be overused and oversaturated give or take a few years.

Onto the romance, I was really intrigued with them in the first few episodes. Like, close to obsessed. I love the flirty/stubborn dynamic and this couple had it. Prince had very mini gay panic attacks anytime Fah did something flirtatious, but still he'd push those feelings aside to shoo the doctor away. And of course, he didn't stop trying. I talked a little about how their first kiss was very hesitant and gentle, kind of like a trial kiss, and that the others would be a lot more complex and deep, which I was right about. Now, their kiss scenes could've been better, but I've seen worse, so I'll let it pass. I think their chemistry really helped this series from being dropped, not only by me but by many. There were times when it could've been better, but for the most part, it was executed pretty well. Anytime they were on the mountain moon bathing their rocks or even when Fah visited Prince's hometown was when I knew this series was still worth watching. I think it would've even been better had they cut out most of the conflict and made this just a cute everything-is-perfect-and-nothing-can-go-wrong type plot.

But one romance I didn't feel the need to see was Duao and Kluen. They felt unnecessary to see each episode, (Fah calling Duao was fine, but it was the dialogue between him and Kluen that was just wasting time), especially with no progression in their love lives and seeing Duao decline Kluen's offers to kiss or do more with him even though they've been dating for a while now and it's just not ordinary for a couple like them to never progress. And if I had to hear Joong sniff Dunk's cheek one more time instead of just actually kissing it, then I don't think I could make it.

I wished we would've gotten more Mesa and JJ because they did so excellent in this. MIke never fails when it comes to being comedic, even when he's not even trying. Which is why I'm curious what his series with Krist will look like since it looks to be a bit serious. This is my first time seeing Arm in a GMMTV series (He was in Waterboyy and Our Skyy but I don't remember him at all) and he did so well. I was thinking the writers were trying to pair him and JJ up, but nothing. We couldn't get them and we couldn't get Mike and TopTap either. What a shame. The rest of the supporting characters did well. The kids were really precious in this too.

Ratings:

Story: 7 - still better the very mediocre plot that was SIMM. It had a bit more action and overall, Fah and Prince were enjoyable to watch together. I think other plots were pretty irrelevant and could've been unadded so we could get more time with the characters that mattered. I'll take 2 stars off for that and one for it sometimes going flat with no actual plot going on.

Acting - 8.5 - I think everyone did really well, especially Fah. Mark still wasn't 100% there for me. There were parts where he did excellent and other parts he lacked a lot in. Arm and Mike did really well too. Everyone else played their part well.

Music: 5 - Pretty basic and nothing extraordinary.

Rewatch Value: 3 - I could go back to watch complications of them, but not much else than that.

Excited to see this special episode next week. Hopefully, we get some loose ends tied tightly and see good progress with these characters. SIYH was a nice watch, could sometimes get a bit boring, but nonetheless, I enjoyed watching these two. I enjoyed them so much that I wouldn't mind seeing them in another BL paired together.

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It's a Meh

When I first started this series, I was obsessed. I have a thing for friends to lovers, and it just screams off the screen as soon as you tune in. The real problem with this series, however, is that it's slow, and as the series progresses, it becomes so freaking boring. I was very close to dropping this, and not because it's bad but specifically because it lingers on for more time than need be. They could've cut out the last two episodes and this series still would've sufficed. Plus and Minus is another good Tawinese BL, but it could be better if they just cut it in half.

Let's Dive In.

Plus and minus is the story of two best friends that each love each other without the other one knowing, oh, and they're also lawyers. We also have the story of a dry cleaning owner and a beautiful bartender. This is pretty vague, but this is really just the story in one point.

Obviously, things end happily ever after, but there is so much added in the middle that's just not needed. Like random turmoil that causes them to break up and then get back together within a flash. Everything is so well done from episodes 1-8 and then after that, it slows and becomes tedious to get through. especially the last two episodes.

The lead's story is very interesting in the beginning. You can see through their eyes just how much they have loved each other, and even how long they've loved each other. They had plenty of good moments together that just added to the intensity of their situation. I also love the implication of the plus and the minus keychains, it's literally just the cutest thing ever. But the problem I have with them is the weird conflicts that seemed to get in their way. Like how Li Gong finally admits his feelings, and Ze Shou feels the same way but for some reason chooses not to? And then their sudden break-up and get back together? It was just too many irrelevant problems that the writers threw in because they couldn't find a conflict between two people that have always loved each other and are now just realizing it. Anyways, aside from this, I really enjoyed them. Some things were just so freaking boring (like when they would get into lawyer mode) but others were nice. Ze Shou was very out-going and charismatic while Li Gong was studious and serious. I enjoyed them at best and wouldn't mind seeing them as another Tawinese BL cameo.

Yuki and Ying Ze's story was so precious, especially when you add his daughter into the mix. They gave us that very domestic/homey feel that the series needed, and I loved it. From beginning to the end, I was pretty much sold on this couple. I loved how Yuki had no problem with flirting and being open about how we felt and watched Ying Ze be nervous and shy. I don't like how somewhere in between they rush their whole relationship, but other than that, I was here for them (Their kisses?? Oh my god?).

I feel like nothing else in this series was of much importance. The dad of Ze Shou is annoying, low-key the sister is too. I can't remember the other's name, but they only add on more time to this very tedious watch. I'll give Ling Ling a pass though, cause she was brilliant and adorable.

Ratings:

Story: 7.5 - Good in the beginning, but boring after episode 8. The conflicts just aren't conflictual enough. I practically sped through the few last eps because I had been putting this off for weeks, but I hurried and finished it. Yuki and Ying Ze were fun, so I'll give them most of the credit for the 7.5 stars.

Actings - 8: Good. Qi Lei was a little dry at times and was really the only one who was noticeably not all that good (but he was beautiful) Still, it doesn't take me away from the story which is the important part. Everyone else did a great job.

Music: 9 - Very addicting and gets stuck in your head. I loved the melody and the lyrics.

rewatch Value: 2 - Ehh, probably not.

I recommend this to anyone that has an admiration for Taiwanese BLs, but other than that, Nah. This is a serious letdown since I ADORED DNA Says Love You, but whatever. The wedding does help with adding some type of hype for the ending but it still doesn't justify the unnecessary shit that just spills out in this series. Watch it if you want, or don't.

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No Purpose in this Show's Existence

I honestly don't know what to review because, at the end of the day, most of this series was pointless and served no real purpose by the end. it was a show within a show, which is why I'm not always the biggest fan of these types of plots. Because now, the conflicts and everything else that we were watching doesn't matter because it was fictional in their world. By the end, we see that Guy and Jing are actually in a perfectly healthy relationship and nothing conflicting was going on at all. That's My Candy had two of my favorite BL actors and was complete trash and a waste of valuable watch time.

Let's Dive in.

The first episode was promising, a bit weird, but I can usually get over that aspect as long as I see other elements in the show that has potential, but every episode after was just a huge bummer. That's My Candy is about a couple who's been dating for some years, and have trouble with spending time together because one of them is an ER nurse, who's constantly on the go. So the one who seems to have no life breaks up with busy boy and then that busy boy is given magical candy that can grant any of his wishes. Now I could go full depth into the real problems of this series; incoherentness, confusing plot, aggravating characters, and bad communication, but I'd be wasting my time because it doesn't matter. We find out the whole thing is just Jing's school film project, and in reality, these people are normal human beings with healthy relationship statuses.

But let's pretend it wasn't fake this entire time, and get into the root of the problem. If this was the real jIng, then he is a walking red flag. Knowing damn well his boyfriend is an ER nurse who is constantly on call and having to work and instead is so condescending that at one point he makes Guy choose between a person who's passed out or him. On top of that, they break up and get back together way too many times for me to give a damn by the end. So many misunderstandings and miscommunications that I could write a whole page on it. Overall, the professor should only give them a 3 on this movie, one point for Viking/Tamtam, one point for Kana, and the last one because Kim and Copter know how to kiss.

The acting was just weird in this. For one, there were way too many characters that could've been easily removed because I don't even remember half of them. Most of the acting isn't bad, it's just this script sucked ass. I'm usually okay with nonsense and cringe as long as it's intended to be that way and the acting is strong enough to do it successfully, like in SCOY, but this was just worthless ridiculousness. So many unnecessary "funny" moments that made me centimeters away from dropping this. The only reason I didn't is because I love Kim and Copter with all of me. I just beg that the next time I see them, they can be in something not so slapstick comedy. Something serious, and complex, and deep. Because they have the ability to do that, but no one has given them the option to do so.

Rating;

Story: 3 - Utter trash and irrelevant by the end. Viking and Tamtam's story was a bit fun to watch. I also rooted for Jing and Kana at some point, but my hatred for Jing took over and I didn't care for them at all. The plot and everything in it are worthless. I'll give it 2 stars because of KimCop and another for Viking/TamTam.

Acting: 7.5 - Not terrible, just weird, and because of that, the actor's acting came off as kind of bad. Also, way too many characters that I just don't care about. Kim and Copter did well, but I know with a better series, they could've been superb. I'll give it 4 for KimCop, 2 for the supporting roles because it was as good as it could be, and 1.5 because at some point I got to see Pak's abs and god lord.

Music: 7.5 - quite decent. I enjoyed it more than the story itself.

Rewatch value: 1 - If pigs fly.

Just bad. Bad. bad. bad. I wanted to give some leeway because it is KimCop, but not even they could do the series for me. The ending is cute, just because we see them together and being healthy and happy. They have some very cute moments, but you can skip this series and just watch it somewhere on YT I'm sure.

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My Little Pleasant Surprise

I waited to binge-watch You're My Sky because I knew it would be one of those series that would just be better with one sitting, and I wasn't wrong. I went in with little expectations since I wanted to be fully surprised by all aspects, including all of the couples and their circumstances, so I went in without reading the synopsis or understanding the concept of this BL, and my only knowledge was that basketball was involved. And I fucking loved it. I loved this series why more than I thought I was going to, especially with me going into this with little to no idea what it was. But each couple brought about strong on-screen dynamics with perfect combability that their relationship were believable. To add on, the cinematography is by far my favorite of 2022.

Let's Dive In.

The easiest way to describe YMS is by saying it's a uni-story, but one, in particular, that didn't feel the same as the others. We have three completely different couples that go through their own conflicts and by the end, it's a somewhat happy ending for all. What makes this feel so unique in and of itself is simply the cinematography. It reminded me a lot of ITSAY and IPYTM, not in the same aspect of the story, but cinematically wise, it was astounding. The colors used, the way lighting played an important role, and the settings have such a homey feel to them -- it all equaled up to an amazing watch that made the series 10 times more exciting.


Again, I loved the cinematography. Had this series been filmed in the regular Thai-BL style, I don't think I would've liked it nearly as much as I do. There was just a way the story was told that was an absolute joy to watch. I liked the dim lighting that we see throughout the series, it just brings out a central feel that made it feel so authentic. At some point in the series, we see the framing chance so the intensity of a basketball game can be lifted, and I freaking adored it. The settings were so nice, especially the outside basketball court by the river, cause at night, it had a solemn and romantic feel that made Tuphah and Thorn's scenes appear more sensual. Even their first kiss illuminated by the street light and the bit coming from Thorn's house was so sensual and relaxing. I'm not even a big fan of basketball or sport BLs in general, but these scenes were shot to actual perfection. They imitated the feel of the game, and the intensity (even without an audience) in such a way that you find yourself wanting more. It also was a delight to see that the actors were actually playing basketball and doing it decently. Of course, it wasn't perfect, but they rebounded, went for a layup, did cool dribbling moves on the court, showed actual basketball techniques and skills that really impressed me. Same with the track scenes. I adored that we can see the way Vee gets in his head and the use of track to make things feel more elevated. Again, they use actual relay techniques like calling for the baton, practicing the way they hand it off, and everything else that goes with track and field. Production was by far the best thing about YMS, there were plenty of ridiculous product placements, but I'm willing to look pasted that.

Getting into what I loved and didn't like about each couple:

Dome and Vee: I appreciated their dynamic for sure. Vee is kind of a tease who indirectly flirts with Dome and they end up having this strong connection. Dome's actor plays his expressions perfectly in his eyes, and it feels so intense when we see him looking at Vee, whether directly into his eyes or when Vee's not looking. It's very sensual with this couple, and only because that's all it can be since Dome is Vee's sister's boyfriend. The director plays with the impact of touch perfectly. We feel that sense of attractiveness through Dome giving him back rubs, and when Vee is massaging his legs. It's the same attraction when they make sacred eye contact and don't look away, it gives way to such a vibrant aura that it's hard not to want them to be together. While I'm no fan of cheating, I appreciate it in film and tv just because it is a realistic aspect of some relationships, and I can always appreciate realism. Out of every cheating plot I've seen, this one was handled with the utmost respect and delicateness, just because cheating actually never occurs, and is more of a conscious type feel. They don't have any physical intimacy until Dome breaks up with Pan, and while they do admit their feelings for one another before the breakup, it feels more like disloyalty (still not a good thing, but still not cheating). Pan's actor is fantastic, and the scene when she admits to Vee that she saw them kissing was very strong in emotion. It's a heavy topic and of course, she eventually forgives her brother since she can't just never talk to him again. Dome and Vee ended in the most realistic way possible, by keeping things neutral between the both of them, and agreeing to take things one step at a time. I really had no problem with this couple, of course, it's not good to cheat on your girlfriend, especially with her brother, but it was handled in a way that I rarely see in BL and had to be one of the best cheating storylines I've encountered. It's no wonder why this couple was a fan favorite.

Aii and Saen: I'm a sucker for grouchy uke who's either oblivious or ignoring the other's advances towards them, and the overly flirtatious or bubbly Seme who falls first in the relationship (Ex: MingKit, LeonPhob, MeenDuean, GavCai, SkyJao), and these two fit right into that category. I liked how Saen wasn't afraid to flirt and be honest with his feelings for Aii right off the bat. Aii saw it as teasing at first, but eventually, he was on board. The trip to Saen's grandma's house was precious. The delicate way that Saen explains he wants to kiss Aii and Aii being super nervous but allows him to do it. It was perfect, and while I wouldn't have wanted that to be their first time, it was still was really nice. Aii gets the chance to travel to Japan but he debates within himself whether to go or not since he doesn't want to leave Saen and their relationship behind. Which brings me to the point of what kept annoying me with this couple. The problem with the long-distance should've been one singular conflict and been resolved only once. Instead, it is resolved only to be a problem again and it's repeated a few times. Either go or stay, but this shouldn't have to be the repeating disruption in their relationship. I would've also liked it if they had more time to get to know each other, cause I can somewhat believe their feelings for one another, but they get together in such a quick instance that it's difficult to believe they're in love. This couple just needed a few touchups, but for the most part, I enjoyed them. Saen was the freaking cutest and watching Aii just slowly start to fall for him, or when we see him admitting his feelings is the best part of it all.

Tupfah and Torn: This was the best couple out of them all. While they did have plenty of problems, it was still a really good story. I love a good friends-to-lovers trope, and they did perfectly at implementing it. It took Tupfah longer to realize his feelings, but as we see him going through the process of doing so, it's fucking adorable. Their first kiss in front of Torn's house is perfection. They kiss once, and it's very shy as they just go for it, but when Tupfah leans in again, it becomes hot and heavy. And they have a couple other intimate scenes that are planned out accordingly and executed perfectly. I don't mind that at a point, Torn becomes a villain and kind of terrorizes the team because he becomes involved with the bad coach's morals, but it's honestly the best way to show that he was hurting. I think that part of his redemption arc might've been handled too quickly. I wanted to see his action have some actual consequences, but whatever, it's fine with what we get. I agree with others that Tae wasn't the best as Tupfah, but he did okay. There were some times when I wanted him to bring about a stronger performance, but it wasn't so bad that it was unwatchable. He's definitely a lot better than he was in Y-destiny by a longshot. They had the best story, development-wise, and I liked seeing their dynamic as children compared to when they're in college. I love the inside quote of the "go or no go", and it's placed in points in the story that makes it seem more valuable and important. Their chemistry faltered at times, but by the end, it was stellar.

Some other things:

I loved the portrayal of the trans character, and how the director didn't utilize him as a blowoff character, or someone that was to be silly or creepy. He instead helps Tupfah with his feelings, and we get a pretty emotional confession of his feelings and how grateful he was for the team and the coach.

The first time jump was terribly executed. It took a while for me to even realize that a time jump had happened since it's never really said and just implied. There needed to be some indication to the audience that time had passed, or things just got rather confusing.

I think this series could've wrapped up nicely at 10 episodes, and I would've for sure given it a 10 rating, but the extraness that is brought about in the last two is irrelevant. It felt like the screenwriter had ended it at 10, and then forgot they had two episodes left, so they added more and more conflict that was just unnecessary. Like how Aii and Saen's situation was handled just to become a problem again out of the blue when it was already resolved. It's kind of the same with Tupfah and Torn with their little quarrel at the end.

Ratings:

Story: 8 - I really liked the main couple's story. The basketball scenes were done very nicely. The other couples were enjoyable. I'll take two stars off since I firmly believe this could've ended in 10 episodes.

Acting: 9 - Everyone did a really good job. I think that Tae and Tupah's little brother's actor were the weakest links, but it wasn't so bad that it wasn't enjoyable. I'll take one star off for that.

Music: 8.5 - I really liked it. It went well with the tone of the series, and I enjoyed listening to it. I also liked the music choices used throughout this series, like when something bad was happening or about to happen, we hear this booming type of music, and the editors did a perfect job of choosing songs.

Rewatch value: 3: I would for sure go back to rewatch some scenes that gave me butterflies and made me all gushy.

Overall, this is a very nice BL. It seems to be a bit underrated since I don't see it talked about nearly enough, so I hope more people can come around to watching it.

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